Goldilocks and the 3 Ads

Do you remember the story of Goldilocks and the three 🐻? I mean, other than the breaking and entering and theft aspect…

In the story, Goldilocks is presented with three options each time: one thing that is too much, one thing that’s not quite enough, and one thing that is juuuuust right.

Facebook ads are a little like that. Your goal when working on a marketing campaign is to create an advertisement that is just right for your dream customer. You want to speak their language and entice them to opt-in to your sales funnel.

Of course, you can’t do that without knowing what a just right Facebook Ad should look like.

🙋 (A quick note: there are tons of amazing resources out there that break down and analyze Facebook Ads. Sprout Social does a great breakdown of high-quality ads, while Ad Quadrant takes on some of the, uh… less successful ads. This post by Wishpond breaks down the basics of Facebook Ads.)

In my last article, I shared with you the bones of a basic Facebook Ad, including the behind the scenes stuff. Right now, we’re just going to discuss the part your customer sees— because that’s how they’ll decide if your ad is just right for them. But, and this is important so you should write it down, your just right ad can’t get in front of your customer unless your targeting is ON POINT. So nail that down first!

Okay, first up, a great example from Just Fab:

Why does this ad work? Let’s look at the elements. It has a great image, catchy copy, and a perfect call-to-action. This ad came from my Facebook feed in October, so “BOOTober Fest”👻 is timely and catchy. It’s the time of year when most of the women are shopping for boots to wear for the next few months. The image itself has a pair of eye-catching boots and highlights the incredibly low price point. The call to action in the text above the image is clear and to-the-point: SHOP NOW! If that wasn’t enough, you can see the social proof right there at the bottom: over 8,000 likes and 800 comments. I’d say this is just right!

And now for an unsuccessful ad:

Oof. 😖 Well, the one thing this ad has going is a clear call-to-action. They want you to shop now for… A deer lamp? Or something? The images here are muted, the copy doesn’t tell me what they sell or why my loved ones need it. It’s not speaking directly to anyone, really. I’m not the only one who hates it, there are only 3 likes and 1 share on the ad. I’m calling this on a fail.